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The dollar gained versus the euro and against most leading rivals on Friday ahead the first round on Sunday of a tight French presidential race that likely holds implications for the eurozone economy.

The broad-based ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.09% rose 0.1% to 99.92. The euro EURUSD, -0.1586% was worth $1.0696, slipping from $1.0718 late Thursday in New York.

â€śInvestors are evidently cautious ahead of Sundayâ€™s French elections: not only has the euro fallen but European equity markets were also flat across the board this morning, despite that sharp rally on Wall Street yesterday,â€ť said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst with FOREX.com.
The latest polling indicates that French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron remains the front runner in what is expected to be a tight contest. The first round of voting will take place on Sunday, with a second round coming May 7.

Far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen has advocated for France to ditch the euro and leave the European Union. Far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, another euroskeptic, has recently surged in the polls while conservative Francois Fillonâ€™s scandal-stricken campaign has seen a rebound in support.

Read: How to dazzle voters on the campaign trail? Upstart French candidate turns to holograms

Read: Hereâ€™s a sign euro traders are dangerously complacent about the French election

â€śGenerally speaking though, the EUR/USD continues to trade inside an ugly range,â€ť said Razaqzada. â€śMy longer-term outlook on the EUR/USD is neutral for now but will turn decidedly bearish if and when that old support area of 1.0460-1.0525 breaks down.â€ť

Against its Japanese counterpart, however, the greenback USDJPY, -0.21% slipped to ÂĄ109.12 compared with ÂĄ109.32 late Thursday in New York. The euro had reached a high of $1.0779 Thursday, the strongest level since March 28, according to FactSet data.

The dollar had climbed against the yen late Thursday after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin affirmed that thereâ€™s bipartisan support for raising the U.S. debt ceiling, and that an extension would likely be approved by the summer.

Investors have grown increasingly anxious since the U.S. reached the limits of its legal authority to borrow back in March, worrying that the same fractiousness that prevented President Donald Trump from passing his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare might also stymie a debt-ceiling accord.

Sales in March fell by 1.8% from the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said, significantly more than the 0.1% fall predicted by analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal. Compared with March last year, sales rose by 1.7%, also significantly below analystsâ€™ expectations.